Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Memorial: | Lancashire Landing Cemetery | I. 98. | |
| 2. Book: | The (1921) Masonic Roll of Honour 1914-1918 | Pg.137 | |
| 3. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 55B GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | |||
Family :
Son of Arthur John Hanslip Ward and Eleanor Katherine Mignot Ward (nee Brown), of The Gables, Dovercourt.Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: 1st Battalion The Essex Regiment |
1st Battalion August 1914 : in Mauritius. Returned to England in December 1914. 18 January 1915 : moved to Banbury and attached to 88th Brigade in 29th Division. 21 March 1915 : sailed from Avinmouth for Gallipoli, going via Egypt and Mudros. Landed at Cape helles 25 April 1915. 8 January 1916 : evacuated from Gallipoli and moved to Egypt. 16 March 1915 : sailed from alexandria for France. 4 February 1918 : transferred to 112th Brigade in 37th Division |
| Action : Gallipoli |
The Gallipoli Campaign was fought on the Gallipoli peninsula 25th April 1915 to 9th January 1916. in a failed attempt to defeat Turkey by seizing the Dardanelles and capturing Istanbul. Ill-conceived and planned, the initial effort by the Royal Navy failed to force passage through the Dardanelles by sea power alone. It was then realised that a land force was needed to support the project by suppressing the Turkish mobile artillery batteries. By the time all was ready the Turks were well aware and well prepared. Despite amazing heroics on the day of the landings only minor beachheads were achieved and over the succeeding 8 months little progress was made. Eventually the beachheads were evacuated in a series of successful ruses.
Despite Gallipoli rightly becoming a national source of pride to Australians and New Zealanders, far more British casualties were sustained, and these days the substantial French contribution is almost forgotten.
Detail :
BASIL MIGNOT WARD CAPTAIN, 1/ESSEX REGIMENT Basil WARD was the younger son of Arthur John Hanslip Ward, Town Clerk of Harwich (a position he held for 50 years). Basil was born at Dovercourt Essex on 20th February 1888. He was educated at Tower School, Dovercourt, Felsted School, and The Royal Military College Sandhurst. He was Gazetted 2nd Lieutenant in the 1st Essex Regt. on 8th February 1908, and promoted Lieutenant 25th September 1911 and Captain 26th April 1915. He served in Burma, India, and Mauritius, and with the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. He was killed in action during the landing at the Dardanelles, 25 April, 1915 whilst commanding 'A' Company and was buried on the shore of Gallipoli, just above W Beach (now Lancashire Landing Cemetery). His Commanding officer (who was himself killed a few days later) wrote; He was such a good officer, and so much beloved by us all. It must indeed be terrible for you, but you have the consolation that he died fighting for his country, and no one could die a more noble death. He fell the first day we landed, but not before he had proved what a gallant fearless officer he was. In the Regt we shall miss him dreadfully. He was a member of the Hanslip Ward Lodge No 3399, into which he was initiated by his father, the lodge founder after whom it was named. He was also a member of the St. Nicholas Mark Lodge.
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Hanslip Ward No. 3399 E.C. | Essex |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
30th January 1910 | 27th February 1910 | 27th March 1910 |
Source :
The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:
- The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
- The (UK) National Archives
- Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
- ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry
Additional Source:
- Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
- Researcher : Bruce Littley